The new cultivar ‘Autumn Treasure’ was created in the course of the controlled breeding program carried out at East Malling Research (EMR), Kent, United Kingdom in 1995. Two breeding lines from the East Malling breeding programme were chosen as parents and crossed with the aim of combining their desirable characteristics. The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) was the numbered selection ‘EM6304/36’ (not patented). This was an extremely early summer fruiting selection with a condensed ripening season at East Malling (Kent, UK). The fruit was attractive and with good flavour. The plant was spineless, resistant to biotypes 1–4 of the large raspberry aphid, Amphorophora idaei. It had R. occidentalis, R. crataegifolius and R. spectabilis in its ancestry. The male parent (i.e., the pollen parent) was the numbered selection ‘EM6330/96’ (not patented). This was a very early primocane fruiting selection which had very high crop potential and good plant growth habit at East Malling (Kent, UK).The plant was spiny and resistant to biotypes 1–4 of the large raspberry aphid, A. idaei. It had a very complex ancestry that included R. occidentalis, R. idaeus strigosus, R. odoratus, R. arcticus, R. crataegifolius and R. spectabilis. Neither of the parents were released as cultivars and no plants of either selection exist any longer.
The seeds resulting from the above pollination were sown and small plants were obtained which were genetically and phenotypically different from each other. Seedlings were selected for spinelessness and Amphorophora idaei resistance in the glasshouse and planted in the open field at East Malling in 1996. The new cultivar was selected as a single plant from those seedlings in 1999 and has subsequently been vegetatively propagated in 1999 at East Malling by division of rooted canes, etiolated root cuttings as well as by in vitro shoot tip culture for trialing and testing. ‘Autumn Treasure’ has a vigorous root system and propagates readily.